Shopping & Services

ATLANTA -- The wave of couponers' cries heard in the Midwest and Texas has finally hit the Southeast!

For years, we have enjoyed the everyday doubling of coupons $0.50 and less. We got FREE items because of this great policy and it made handling an almost impossible budget easier for us couponers and savvy shoppers.

While I am not saying that this will hurt us (I will be posting some other things Kroger is doing), it does have me wondering -- in this competitive Atlanta market, where we use more coupons per capita then ANYWHERE in the US -- how will this fare? Will Publix jump on the bandwagon?

The end of double coupons becomes effective September 21, 2013. For this couponer, I will be having to double check my shopping list with this new rule. It's not fun, but a lot of new things are coming from Kroger, and I think this is why the program of double couponing is ending.

Your homes are a place of safety and comfort for you, your family, and friends. That is where the baby crawls, the kids play, where meals are prepared, and where you sleep at night. Your home should be just that, YOURS. More often than desired, your homes become a haven to unwanted guests. They could come as cockroaches, ants, bed bugs, fleas, spiders, termites, mice, or even rats. Really, there are more pests with a possibility of invading your homes than can even be imagined. This is why home pest control is a necessity. While many people think that they need to hire an expensive pest control company, the truth is that they can do their own pest control just as effectively and save a lot of money.

The Riverside Farmers Market will open for its fourth season on Saturday, June 1, 2013. The popular market is operated by Fulton County Cooperative Extension.

The market will return to the same location, in the parking lot of Roswell City Hall located at 38 Hill Street. Hours are Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon through September. The market is open rain or shine.

The 2013 season promises to be the strongest yet for the Riverside Farmers Market, with more than 15 vendors. In addition to fresh fruits and vegetables, vendors will provide knife sharpening, honey, baked goods, eco-friendly clothing, as well as live performances by local musicians.

Market visitors can also get free advice from UGA Fulton County Cooperative Extension Agents and Master Gardeners on topics ranging from planting a garden, to radon detection to canning.

ATLANTA -- Coffee retailer Caribou Coffee said Monday they were closing four locations in metro Atlanta on April 14 as part of a larger set of store closings.

The company said it will close 80 locations nationally, and convert another 88 locations to Peet's Coffee locations, including the company's remaining nine stores in metro Atlanta.

The local stores that will be closing will be the locations on North Druid Hills Road, the Norcross store on Peachtree Parkway, and both Marietta locations -- on Powers Ferry Road and on Johnson Ferry Road.

The chain, America's second largest coffee chain behind Starbucks, was acquired in December 2012 by Joh. A. Benckiser, the German company which also recently acquired the West Coast coffee chain Peet's.

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Horticulture students at Gwinnett Technical College will host a plant sale later this month and an edible sale next month.

The plant sale will be Apr. 16-18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the college's greenhouse.

Plenty of plant types will be sold, including annuals, perennials, shrubs, herbs and house plants.

The edible sale will be May 7-9 and will feature fruits, vegetables and herbs.

"I know every year we say the plant sale gets better, but the greenhouse is spectacular. The students have pulled together the best looking and the healthiest plants ever," Gwinnett Tech horticulture program director Aaron Poulsen said in a statement. "There are more varieties than we have time to list, and I think our supporters will be pleased."

Cash and checks will be accepted at the sale; those wishing to use credit and debit cards will have to pay in the school's business office.